Well housekeeping sure has been easier lately since the kids have returned to school. I never realized how much additional work I had while they were home during the summer. Now all I have to do is spend about 30 minutes in the morning tidying up and the house stays clean for most of the day.
I love that phrase “tidying up.” It’s like the bow on the present, the final touch. When you tidy up and take a step back to look at things, you feel complete. Okay, maybe it’s just me.
But tidying up is an important component to housekeeping. If you have done well in keeping your house under control, then you will be at a place where you can tidy up on a daily basis.
Perhaps you have never been at this point, where you can just quickly go through your home and straighten things. So you may not exactly understand what it entails.
For me tidying up is a quick sweep through each room, clearing off any counters or tables that contain items which belong somewhere else, doing a quick swipe of the sponge on the countertops, emptying the basket, things like this.
It is not cleaning. It is making things in the home neat. You can do this when your house is already clean. But if dust is an inch thick or the floors are sticky, then you first need to clean.
When you have a regular cleaning schedule, you will find yourself spending some days doing nothing more than tidying things up. It is a very good feeling. I can walk past each room in my house and know that nothing is beckoning me away from my work. I can freely sit down at my computer and start my day.
Do you sense the joy in being able to do this? If you do and you want to get there, then you need to establish some order and routine to your housekeeping. It is never too late.
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Photo by dave in morgueFile